Haye's Chin: Really that bad?

First topic message reminder :

As a few of us have done this I have also taken one of my old BBC 606 articles but I have modified it slightly.

David Haye is constantly said to have an "iffy" chin. Whilst I appreciate he is in no way a Vitali Klitschko when it comes to durability in the jaw department, just how bad is it in reality?

Let's look at the knockdowns:

Lolenga Mock put him on the floor.

Carl Thompson TKO'd him.

Mormeck gave him a flash knockdown.

With the exception of the Thompson fight, both the other knockdowns were avenged with a brutal KO of the other fighter, although he was a bit wobbly after Mock's punch. Haye has acknowledged that he fought a terrible fight against Thompson, was gassed and has learned from the experience. If I remember correctly, his corner threw in the towel as well. With Mock it was also due to his inexperience, being only his 7th or 8th fight.

Is Haye's chin like Wlad's? Obviously he will go over when tagged by a decent shot, but due to his speed he has negated a lot of the uncertainty. Wlad does this with his jab and defensive skills. I'm pretty sure Ruiz hit Haye flush a few times and he didn't budge, so the "being hit by a fully-fledged heavy" doesn't really hold sway here. That said, he hasn't faced a big puncher yet.

Enzo hit him hard and he stayed up. So is Haye's chin really that bad? He also appears to have quite good recuperation skills. Any boxer will go if hit correctly. Is it a myth fuelled by the press and non-fans looking to discredit him?

If we're honest on this one we have no clue how either will fight

Wlad has never faced anyone with the combination of both speed and power nor has Haye ever faced anyone with the skillset of Wlad

Dont know what fight your expecting DAVE667 but the one I am sees Wlad holding the centre of the ring, attacking behind the jab. Haye on the other hand will be circling on the back foot most of the time.

So yes, Wlad will be the one going forward, Haye the one going backwards.

manos de piedra wrote:Dont know what fight your expecting DAVE667 but the one I am sees Wlad holding the centre of the ring, attacking behind the jab. Haye on the other hand will be circling on the back foot most of the time.

So yes, Wlad will be the one going forward, Haye the one going backwards.

Well, we'll see what we'll see!

Wlad will be at ring centre, not marching but inching forward whilst poking out the jab and keeping his right held high to protect himself from Hayes counter left. Haye will be trying to circle to his own left, just out of range of wlads jabs whilst looking/waiting for an opening to unleash a fast over hand left - right hayemaker combo. Both will be cautious early on.

Both has the power to stop the other, but Hayes gameplan will be based on utilising this whereas wlads will not, whichvmakes it more likely that Haye will be the aggressor in the first 6 rounds and more likely that he will score a tko during this time. If he is unable to do this - ie if he can't find an opening, if wlad is able to suck up his punches or if wlad is able to tie him up as he comes forward, then the likelihood is going into the 2nd half of the fight wlad will take over and jab/cross his way to victory.

I don't think haye is chinny or that he has a great chin - he's somewhere in between. He's shown vulnerability to flash kd's but also powers of recovery, and hus only stoppage loss was more to do with physical exhaustion than a bad chin, as he was stopped on his feet after punching himself out.

Wlad may start in the centre of the ring and try to move forward behind the jab but if Haye's get his timing right (unlike Ruiz) you just might find that Wlad doesn't hold the centre as much as you think.

Manos, you mention about Haye liking a scrap? there are some early examples with Thompson and Mormeck when he's come up against fighters who are willing to go toe to toe. He's only had 25 fights so not too many chances to demonstrate it but he certainly has it in his arsenal. Maybe with maturity he wont go gung ho as much but should it be needed against Wlad he wont hesitate if he feels he can win from there.

Also wow_junky, with 23 KO's from 25 fights, he must be the greatest pot shotter in history!

Really looking forward to this one. Probably the biggest fight since Vatali/Lewis.

I dont know about you lot, but I expect a 10 round borefest with Wlad systematically wearing down Haye. Jab, jab jab, jab, jab with haye backing off out of range. The minute he tries to launch his combos, Wlad's arms will be flailing about until he grasps Haye and leans on him til he tires.

See Valuev fight as a blue print of this fight. Haye hardly landed on him and he is much slower than Wlad. The only difference is that Wlad will be more accurate and busier than Valuev was.

kevchadders wrote:Wlad may start in the centre of the ring and try to move forward behind the jab but if Haye's get his timing right (unlike Ruiz) you just might find that Wlad doesn't hold the centre as much as you think.

Manos, you mention about Haye liking a scrap? there are some early examples with Thompson and Mormeck when he's come up against fighters who are willing to go toe to toe. He's only had 25 fights so not too many chances to demonstrate it but he certainly has it in his arsenal. Maybe with maturity he wont go gung ho as much but should it be needed against Wlad he wont hesitate if he feels he can win from there.

Also wow_junky, with 23 KO's from 25 fights, he must be the greatest pot shotter in history!

Really looking forward to this one. Probably the biggest fight since Vatali/Lewis.

Since hes been at heavyweight hes fought cautious and mainly on the back foot. I am not blaming him for it as I think its the right strategy.

But hes not going to try scap it out with big punching heavyweights. He wants to avoid getting hit as he knows it could be curtains if he is.

Hes a decent finisher, when he has his opponent hurt. But hes not a slugger or someone who looks to go toe to toe.